Meet Petunia Dursley
by SqueeDraco
Summary: Petunia Dursley has been misunderstood her whole life; she was living in the shadow of her younger sister; her parents ignored her; she just wanted a normal life.
1. The Evans Children

CHAPTER ONE: THE EVANS CHILDREN  
  
It was a warm afternoon in late August. A redheaded six year-old girl with brilliant green eyes was sitting on a solitary swing in a little park. The girl twisted the chains of the swing, turning with her seat so that she could take a good look around the park. She spotted another girl, an eight year-old brunette, and called over to her.  
  
"Petunia!" she cried. "Will you come push me on the swing?"  
  
The brunette sighed and walked over reluctantly. She pulled the chains of the swing so that the redhead was about three feet off the ground and then let go. The redhead squealed with delight as she went (in her opinion) soaring through the air like a bird. Petunia, looking very bored and plastering a smile on her face, continued to push the redhead until the sky began to grow darker.  
  
Petunia abruptly stopped the swing and ordered the redhead off of it. The redhead turned around and hugged Petunia, much to her dislike. However, she hugged back and smiled a fake smile once again.  
  
"Thanks, Petunia! You are the best sister in the world!" the redhead cried.  
  
Petunia sighed and took hold of the redhead's hand. "Come now, Lily, or we will get home after dark."  
  
The two set off at a brisk walk down the street, coming to a house about forty-three feet from the park. Petunia opened the door and immediately let go of Lily's hand. Lily entered the house quickly; Petunia took her time. She took one last glance toward the park and then slowly walked through the door. She shut it and locked it, then made her way through the sitting room to a small red couch. Her parents looked at her and then said, "I hope you treated Lily well?"  
  
"Yes, I did," snapped Petunia. "I did not get to swing once!"  
  
"I see," said Petunia's father, obviously not caring too much. He and his wife turned a loving eye towards their younger daughter and asked her if she had fun. They always paid more attention to Lily than they did to Petunia. By now, Petunia had, for the most part, become accustomed to it. She sighed and walked out of the sitting room, making her way up a set of extremely creaky stairs. She walked down a hallway, entering the door at the very end.  
  
She sat down on the bed, an angry and somewhat hurt look crossing her face. Then she lay down on her stomach, pulled her pillow into a hug, and cried into it as she did almost every night. She felt neglected, rejected, and alone. At school, she had a few friends, yet she knew that none of them would understand her position. Most of her friends had no siblings, and if they ever knew how jealous Petunia was of Lily, they would probably laugh.  
  
Petunia wished that she had somebody in her life that could understand her. By now, she knew that she could not turn to her family. And her friends were also out of the question. Who did that leave her to turn to? Maxwell Smith, the school bully? As it were, Petunia happened to be Maxwell's favorite victim. Every time he ran into her, he would taunt her about her sister. Everyone knew that Lily was Petunia's sister, and everyone also knew that Lily was much more popular than Petunia could ever hope to be.  
  
Petunia continued to cry for hours; when she looked at her alarm clock, it read 12: 37 am. Petunia changed into her pajamas, not bothering to stifle the drawers as she pulled them out and then slammed them shut. She crawled into bed, flipped over her pillow, pulled up the covers, and she fell asleep the second her head hit the pillow. She had many a strange dream that night. She had one particular dream that slightly troubled her. In her dream, she saw a flash of bright green light, heard high pitched laughter, and saw her sister fall to the ground, dead.  
  
Petunia woke with a start. What had the dream meant? Did she want to kill her sister? Petunia shook off the thought. She would never kill anybody; the fact that she had even worried about her subconscious wanting to kill someone was utterly ridiculous. Of course, the fact that her 'subconscious' even existed and could dictate what she thought was ridiculous. After all, Petunia was as normal as could be.  
  
By the age of eight, Petunia has three primary goals in life. The first was to be as normal as possible. Some kids at school had made up their own secret codes and some had very strange beliefs and superstitions. Not Petunia. The second was to marry a man just as normal as she was. The third was to raise one normal child. She had already decided that she would only have one child; she did not want anyone in her family to be mistreated.  
  
Of course, she had a lot of time before she would have a child. It was a Saturday, which meant that the kids did not have to go to school. It also meant that her mother would make a special breakfast, over which her parents would make a fuss about Lily. Petunia got dressed and hurried down the steps; she was very hungry. She eagerly sat down at the table.  
  
"Good morning, Petunia dear," her mother said, flipping over a pancake. Petunia simply said, "hello mum," and stared down at her plate. She was determined not to cry tonight. She would simply ignore her family as much as possible so she would have no reason to cry tonight. Her mother picked up her plate, filled it with pancakes, scrambled eggs, and sausage, and placed it in front of Petunia once again.  
  
Just then, Lily walked in the door.  
  
"Lily honey! You look absolutely lovely this morning! Look at this big breakfast I made for you!" her mother cried, pulling Lily into a tight hug. Petunia glared angrily at her plate and stabbed a sausage with her fork. She ate silently, looking down at her plate and ignoring her parents and sister. Towards the end of breakfast, however, she was forced to pay attention to her parents.  
  
"Kids, your mother and I have decided to take you to the zoo. Lily has had perfect attendance at school this year and she has gotten the highest marks. We decided to reward her," her father said, lovingly putting a lock of red hair behind Lily's ear. Lily smiled stupidly, but Petunia continued to glare. Her parents had, of course, forgotten that Petunia had the highest marks in her classes also, had had perfect attendance, and that she was in third grade, which was considerably more difficult than first grade (which Lily was in).  
  
Petunia walked outside with her family and climbed into the back of the family's car. She folded her hands in her lap and stared down at them the duration of the trip to the zoo. Once they had entered the zoo, her parents asked Lily which animals she wanted to see first. Lily said the lions. Petunia snorted. She would much rather see the birds. Birds were probably Petunia's favorite animals. She envied their freedom. They could go anywhere they wanted, and they were certainly not stuck with a family that could not care less about them.  
  
The family made their way through the zoo, coming to the birds last. "Saved the best for last, I see," mumbled Petunia. Lily soon became very bored with the birds, but their beauty fascinated Petunia. Lily tugged on the sleeve of Petunia's shirt. "Come on, Petunia, it is time to go," Lily whined. Petunia continued to stare at the birds. Lily followed Petunia's gaze and said, "I wish the ruddy birds would turn invisible!" Just then, as though something magical had occurred, Petunia could no longer see the birds.  
  
Of course, there was no such thing as magic. Petunia would never even dare to dream of such a thing. She simply thought that she was worn out from a long day at the zoo and that her mind was playing tricks on her. Since she could no longer see the birds, Petunia was resigned to walk away with Lily. They made their way to their parents, who were on the other side of the atrium. The family made their way back home. Petunia had just walked in the door when the phone rang. Her father answered it.  
  
After talking for a while, he nodded solemnly and hung up. He gathered all of the family into the sitting room and looked around at them. "Kids.grandpa Evans died today. He had a heart attack." Though grandpa Evans had, like all other members of the family, favored Lily over her, the loss still hurt Petunia. Grandpa Evans was her father's father, and Petunia glanced over at him to see how he was handling it. He buried his face in his hands and sobbed. Her mother rushed over to Lily and hugged her. "Are you ok Lily dear?" she asked. 'Never mind the fact that I am here, too,' Petunia thought bitterly. Petunia stood up and went back to her bedroom.  
  
She sat down on the bed again, her face turning angry and hurt. However, she lay down on her back and did not cry one single tear. She had told herself that she would not, and she was a woman of her word. Her day had been terrible, yes. Then again, so had her life. That night, she only had one dream, which involved watching birds for hours on end. It was a simple, normal, harmless dream. She woke up in a better mood, having dreamt of the one thing that she actually liked in her life. 


	2. Growing Up

CHAPTER TWO: GROWING UP  
  
Petunia Evans was now 12 years old; her sister Lily was 10. Petunia still envied her sister, hated her parents, and despised abnormality. Petunia had begun secondary school, and was, of course, the top of her class. She punched her pillow bitterly. Lily was top of her class and was in her last year of primary school. For the past 4 years, Petunia had tried time and again to prove her worth to her parents. They still managed to ignore her accomplishments. They were determined to focus on Lily and forget that Petunia even existed.  
  
Lily had received a whole new wardrobe for her 7th birthday; Petunia had received a plastic watch for her 9th. Lily had received a set of 12 books for her 8th birthday; Petunia had received a collection of coat hangers for her 10th. Lily had received three cassette tapes of her favorite singers for her 9th birthday; Petunia had received a new pillowcase for her 11th birthday. Lily had received a full-line of hair care products for her 10th birthday; Petunia had received a set of foam hair rollers for her 12th.  
  
Though Petunia had finished each year at school as the top of her class, her parents never noticed. They did, however, notice that Lily managed to finish top of her class every year. Petunia could do nothing but watch with sorrow and bitterness as her sister was given the world and Petunia was given nothing. Lily got a new set of clothes every year before the beginning of school; Petunia only got one new skirt and one new blouse.  
  
It was a bright, cheerful Sunday morning in late June. Petunia had just joined her family for breakfast. Lily's plate was piled high with eggs, bacon, and pancakes. Petunia's plate had one piece of toast and half of a piece of bacon. She picked up her bacon and chewed it angrily. She hated her parents. They were abnormal in quite a few senses. One, they obviously favored their younger daughter over their firstborn. Two, they danced with the mops and brooms as they cleaned. Petunia hated such abnormality.  
  
Petunia had just taken a drink of orange juice when an owl flew through the open dining room window. The owl landed on the table with a loud hoot, which caused Petunia to spit out her drink. It was the first time she could recall not being happy to see a bird. Mayhap she liked them only when she could admire them from afar; now that she saw one up close, she hated the large eyes of the owl, and she hated the rotation of its head. She glanced down at the owl's leg and gasped.  
  
Tied to the owl's leg was a letter. A letter! Tied to the owl's leg! Petunia glared at this bitterly; this was too abnormal! She decided that she no longer liked birds. And she definitely did not like owls. Petunia's mother untied the letter and looked at the envelope. The envelope read: 'Lily Evans, 14 Harold Lane, Cambridge' in green letters. There was a seal of red wax on the back of the envelope. Mrs. Evans handed the letter to Lily.  
  
Lily looked up at her parents with confusion in her eyes. She asked if she should really open it. Her parents nodded, looking curious. Petunia stared at the letter as though it were highly dangerous or very ugly. Lily opened the letter with trembling hands (you know, it is not everyday that you receive a letter by owl post, especially when your family is Muggles). She read through the letter then handed it to her parents to read over. They read over it and looked at their daughter with delight in their smiles.  
  
They hugged Lily, letting the letter fall to the table. Petunia picked up the letter and read it. She laughed scornfully at what the letter said. According to the letter, Lily Evans had been accepted into 'Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry'. Petunia just smirked. Magic was not real. This was obviously a prank of some kind. But her parents seemed to take it seriously.  
  
Included with the letter were a list of supplies, a list of books, and a train ticket. The ticket read "Platform 9 ¾, Kings Cross Station, London". Petunia laughed mirthlessly. Kings Cross Station was real enough, but she was pretty sure there was no such thing as a Platform 9 ¾. She pointed this out to her parents, who were, of course, delighted. "You are so abnormal!" Petunia screamed, leaving the dining room and running up to her room.  
  
She punched her pillow bitterly over and over again. Life was so unfair. She was better than her sister. She was! Petunia had never gotten in trouble at school her entire life; Lily, though usually well behaved, had caused a few phone calls to her parents. Petunia's teachers disliked Petunia's plain and boring approach to learning. Petunia learned because she had to, not because she wanted to. Petunia wanted to prove herself to her parents and her sister.  
  
Lily, on the other hand, enjoyed learning and could not wait to go to school. Lily's teachers loved her enthusiastic, energetic approach to learning. Lily could not have cared less about proving herself; she just enjoyed having knowledge. Lily studied every night, did her homework on time, and read her schoolbooks before she had to. Petunia studied, did her homework, and read her schoolbooks before she had to, but Petunia did not enjoy it. In fact, she hated it.  
  
The rest of the summer passed rather quickly. Before she knew it, late August had rolled around. It was one week before the beginning of September, and Petunia was in the living room listening to a cassette of Lily's. She heard a knock on the door and got up to answer it. She opened the door, looked over the woman standing on her welcome mat, and closed the door.  
  
Her parents came to the door and opened it, glaring at Petunia. They greeted the oddly dressed stranger warmly when they were informed the stranger was a member of the Hogwarts staff and was going to help Lily get her school supplies. The woman, who was wearing a green robe, pointed hat, and square glasses, introduced herself as McGonagall and took a seat beside Petunia.  
  
Petunia scooted as far away from McGonagall as she possibly could. She wanted absolutely nothing to do with this abnormal woman. Lily jumped down the stairs and looked over to the couch. She smiled politely at the guest and took a seat in an armchair. Her parents explained whom McGonagall was and Lily excitedly rushed over and shook her hand. McGonagall chuckled at Lily's childlike energy.  
  
McGonagall left that night with Lily. Lily would be gone for 4 days, then she would return, and leave for school 2 days after that. Mr. and Mrs. Evans waved to Lily as her and McGonagall walked down the street. Petunia sneered angrily. At least Lily would be gone for a few days. Petunia knew that her parents would ignore her while Lily was gone, so Petunia rushed up to her room and began to hit her pillow yet again. Her sister was far too abnormal for her own good. Going off to study magic? Why, that was just ridiculous! Petunia hated her parents, hated magic, and hated Lily. 


	3. A Witch in the Family

CHAPTER THREE: A WITCH IN THE FAMILY  
  
McGonagall and Lily returned, much to Petunia's disappointment. Lily put on her school robes, hat, and held out her wand while her parents proudly snapped numerous pictures. Petunia sneered throughout the whole show. Her parents were so proud to have a witch in the family. Petunia hated it; it was abnormal, after all. McGonagall had left later that day, and Lily had actually hugged her before she left. This had horrified Petunia.  
  
She hated this turning point in her sister's life; Petunia was going to the same school, her parents barely knew she existed, and Lily was made queen of the world for being a witch. Petunia both looked forward to and dreaded the day Lily left. When Lily left, Petunia could finally have a break from her dreadful little sister. However, her parents would probably notice her less now that Lily was gone.  
  
Months had passed since Lily left on September 1st. Petunia could not have been more right: her parents practically forgot that she existed. Petunia was hurt. Her own parents did not even care about her. She swore she would never treat her child like that. Petunia spent most of her afternoons and evenings locked up in her room, studying and hating life.  
  
It was almost Christmas time, and one morning at breakfast an owl tapped on the dining room window. Her mother and father had practically squealed in delight, knowing this meant that their daughter had sent them a letter. They had let the owl in and untied the letter from its leg. They read the letter, their faces breaking out in smiles they reserved for Lily. Now that Petunia looked back on her life, she was pretty sure they had never smiled at her, much less about the fact that she was still alive.  
  
"Well Petunia dear," her mother said, sitting down in a chair. "Your sister is coming home for Christmas! Is that wonderful or what?"  
  
Petunia grunted and looked down at her plate. Her pillow was going to get a major pounding when she got up to her room. Petunia ate the rest of her breakfast slowly, trying to comprehend exactly what Lily's return would mean. For one thing, her parents might notice her more than once a week. Petunia snorted at this thought. Her parents were terrible. If Petunia had found out her daughter was a witch, she would never have let her go to some stupid school for magic.  
  
Petunia's parents, however, could not have been more proud to have a witch in the family. Petunia had been drinking orange juice when she thought this, and angrily slammed the empty glass on the table. She pushed her chair away from the table noisily and stood up, glaring at her parents. Petunia ran to her room, jumped on her bed, and began to give her pillow a brutal beating. She hated her life! How she looked forward to getting married and starting a normal family of her own!  
  
On the extremely cold morning of December 21st, the Evans family piled into the car and drove to Kings Cross Station, where they would pick up Lily. Petunia found herself almost glad that her sister was returning; having Lily back meant that her family would do more fun activities, have better and bigger meals, and, Petunia hoped, her sister was returning because she had learned that magic was stupid and foolish.  
  
As Lily strode through the barrier leading to Platform 9 ¾, however, she was positively beaming. She hugged both of her parents and, much to Petunia's delight, Lily only greeted her. As they were walking out of Kings Cross, a voice shouted out to Lily.  
  
"Hey, Lily, I cannot wait to see you at school again! Merry Christmas to you!" a boy with hazel eyes and very untidy black hair called out to her. Lily rolled her eyes at him and continued to walk out with her parents. The ride home was filled with Mr. and Mrs. Evans doting over how wonderful it was that Lily was home.  
  
Over the next two weeks, Petunia's life returned to the torture she had almost become accustomed to. Lily was constantly describing Hogwarts to them, showing them spells, explaining what she learned in her classes, and mentioned that she had been put into a house called Gryffindor. Petunia just shook her head whenever Lily showed off her magic.  
  
Christmas rolled around, and Petunia received coloring books and crayons. Lily received, much to Petunia's hatred and disgust, an owl. Petunia had scowled at her parents when she had opened her present, but her face showed downright hostility when she saw the owl. Brining such abnormality into the house! It was unthinkable!  
  
One night, about 5 days after Christmas, the Evans family was gathered in the living room, listening to Lily describe some more things about the wizarding world. Lily had just finished telling them about a boy named James Potter who was in his first year at Hogwarts, was in Gryffindor as well, and who never left her alone. Then Lily pointed out that this was the boy who had spoken to her at Kings Cross Station. Petunia snorted. An abnormal boy, to be sure. She would not be surprised if her sister and this odd boy ended up married.  
  
Lily began to tell her parents about wizarding security. She was describing the prison, Azkaban, to them. Then Lily began to regale them with a tale of what the guards were like. She explained how, when you got near them, all the happiness in you was drained out, and you felt nothing but despair, sorrow, and helplessness. Petunia wondered if there were any of these guards, called dementors, nearby. She certainly felt despair, sorrow, and helplessness all too often.  
  
Then, Lily described the worst punishment in the wizarding world; not death, something worse. The dementors would kiss a human, and suck their soul out of their mouth. The human was then no longer alive, yet not quite dead. They wandered about aimlessly, knowing nothing, feeling nothing, being nothing. It sounded horrible. Petunia had gasped when her sister described this.  
  
That night, when Petunia went to bed, she had some odd dreams. One of the dreams reminded her of a dream she had had when she was 8 years old. In her dream, she saw Lily, in her early twenties, saw a flash of green light, heard high pitched laughter, and watched her sister fall to the ground, dead. However, in this dream there was another person present: a man. It was James Potter. He too was in his early twenties, and as with her sister, Petunia saw a flash of green light, heard high pitched laughter, and watched him fall to the ground, dead.  
  
Petunia had woken with a start after this dream. After panting for a while, she managed to calm down and went back to sleep. In her next dream, she saw a boy, with untidy black hair and alarmingly green eyes standing near a lake. She looked around and saw what had to be dementors gliding towards him. Then she looked on in horror as the dementors almost performed their terrible kiss on him. She saw something silver, then woke up suddenly.  
  
Her sister had been knocking on her door. Lily ran inside the room and jumped on Petunia's bed. Today Lily was going back to her freak school. Lily could not have been happier; neither could Petunia. Petunia had despised having Lily back home, especially now that Lily had what her parents called 'skills' and 'remarkable talents'. Petunia liked to call Lily's abnormalities just that: 'odd', 'foolish', 'pointless', and, well, 'abnormal'. Petunia ushered Lily out of her room and got dressed.  
Petunia's parents rushed her to eat breakfast so Lily could get to the station on time. After quickly eating, the family piled into the car once more and headed to London. Lily hugged all three members of the Evans family before disappearing through the barrier that led to Platform 9 ¾. Petunia watched her sister go with disgust. Petunia had turned around to leave, along with her parents, when she saw that Potter boy. Petunia did not know this boy, but she knew that she did not like him.  
  
The Potter boy rushed through the barrier, obviously having seen Lily. He shouted her name repeatedly, but his voice faded once he went through the barrier. The Evans family drove back home to Cambridge. The whole car ride, Petunia's parents spoke of how proud they were that Lily was a witch and had an excellent school to attend. Petunia listened in horror.  
  
That night, when Petunia crawled into bed and turned her light out, she had one bitter thought:  
  
Her family was so proud. They had a witch in the family. 


End file.
